Description
An RSAA panel discussion with Professor June Teufel Dreyer, Dr. Gerry Groot and Professor Steve Tsang, moderated by Martin Purbrick.
“United Front Work is an important magic weapon for the victory of the party’s cause.” – Xi Jinping, October 2017
The united front approach of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is greatly misunderstood in western countries but is an integral part of how the CCP perpetually governs a one-party state. Since its formation in 1921, the CCP learnt from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union how in order for a single party to survive it must not only utilise the hard power of the state but also soft power to bring diverse factions of society into a united front dominated by the communist party. United Front is the soft power approach taken by the CCP, and has become more visible in western countries as the influence of China has expanded in the past several decades.
Our panelists will discuss the history of united front, how it is now used by the CCP, and whether we should be concerned about united front in our own countries. Our panelists are all accomplished scholars who have studied and written about the CCP united front.